Hungarian director György Pálfi has delivered a unique survival feature titled "Hen" (originally titled "Kota"), following an extraordinarily resilient chicken navigating a hazardous world. Produced as a joint venture across Germany, Greece, and Hungary, the 96-minute feature relies entirely on live-action animals without CGI. A team of eight chickens—named Eszti, Szandi, Feri, Enci, Eti, Enikő, Nóra, and Anett in the closing credits—shares the lead role, crafting a surprisingly gripping narrative anchored by naturalism rather than anthropomorphism.
The story begins inside a cramped Greek industrial farm, opening with an explicit egg-laying scene where a chick with dark plumage enters the world. Seeking freedom from commercial poultry farming, the bird escapes through a perilous sequence of events. She eventually arrives at a coastal Greek smallholding run by a family operating a shabby café while engaging in illicit operations. Although placed in a new coop, the hen faces recurring exploitation and egg theft, driving her to escape repeatedly. Her journey leads her across busy highways while pursued by predators like a hungry fox, intersecting with human struggles such as refugee trafficking.
Pálfi, who co-wrote the screenplay with Zsófia Ruttkay, grounds the production in realistic tension. The film features Greek dialogue alongside human cast members Ioannis Kokiasmenos, Maria Diakopanagioti, and Argyris Pantazaras. Visually, cinematographer Giorgos Karvelas captures the bird's frantic rhythm, while editor Lehmhényi Réka merges the footage of eight different birds into a single cohesive performance.
Having premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival's Platform competition—where it received an honorable mention—"Hen" has also screened at festivals in San Sebastian, Tokyo, Thessaloniki, and Palm Springs. Dekanalog handles the U.S. release, while Lucky Number manages world sales. For readers interested in unique entries within the movie domain, Pálfi's vision stands out as a technical achievement in animal-focused filmmaking. Additional historical details on independent international cinema can be explored on Wikipedia.
